Sir John Skynner, PC (1724 – 26 November 1805) was an English judge and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1771 to 1777. He was born in London the son of John Skynner of

Great Milton Great Milton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,042. The School Great Milton church of England primary school is a prominent part of the village community ...

, Oxfordshire and educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and Christ Church, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1742. He entered Lincoln's Inn in 1739 to study law and was called to the bar in 1748. He became attorney-general to the

Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...

from 1770 to 1777, made K.C. in 1771 and a bencher at Lincoln's Inn the same year. He was appointed

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

from 1771 to 1780, second

justice of Chester The Justice of Chester was the chief judicial authority for the county palatine of Chester, from the establishment of the county until the abolition of the Great Sessions in Wales and the palatine judicature in 1830. Within the County Palatine ( ...

from 1772 to 1777 and recorder of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

from 1776 to 1797. He was elected Member of Parliament for New Woodstock from 1771 to 1777. He gave up his seat in 1777: he was made a

serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are wri ...

on 27 November 1777 and on 1 December was appointed

Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pre ...

, a post he held until 1787, after which he was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

. He was knighted on 23 November 1777. He retired in 1786 to the Great House in Great Milton which had inherited from his mother. He died at Bath in 1805 and was buried in the south aisle of Great Milton church. He had married Martha, the daughter of Edward Burn, with whom he had a daughter, Frederica, who married Richard Ryder, the Home Secretary.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Skynner, John 1724 births 1805 deaths Lawyers from Oxfordshire People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn 18th-century English judges Chief Barons of the Exchequer Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Knights Bachelor Serjeants-at-law (England)